Petition For The Removal Of Proprietary Software Advertising On Public Websites

We, the undersigned, hereby
state that we expressly and unequivocally oppose the advertising of
proprietary software products on government websites.

Such advertising breaches impartiality and encourages citizens to employ
technologies that unnecessarily restrict their freedom. The role of government is not to support
certain market participants and not others, particularly when doing so
works to maintain the monopolies of global software companies.

In explanations of how to use digital resources that they provide,
government agencies should clarify that multiple methods are available, and
favour technologies which do not restrict users' digital rights; by linking to PDFreaders.org, for
example.

Free Software guarantees the users right to use (for any purpose), study
(without secrets), share (with anyone), and improve the software that they
use. Public institutions should publish their documents in formats that can be read
with Free Software. Indeed, many Free Software applications exist for
reading such documents. Governments should lead citizens to freedom, and
encourage them to make use of these applications.